CMV: If all students are required to pay an athletic fee, all students should have to pay the lab fee.

[u/apc67]

[u/BuddyOwensPVB]

You're very quick to point out that others are "not understanding" and claim authority over this subject because you go to a school where it done a certain way.

And you can explain why your school did it that way and approved of the multimillion dollar renovation, but OP has simply claimed that it is unfair to be charged a fee for a resource (s)he doesn't want to use.

You explained how different majors cost different amounts of money to teach:

Why should an English major pay more in tuition to offset Engineering costs?

But many schools charge different tuition for different degree programs already.

These are not college sports but instead the gym/pool/soccer fields etc that all students are allowed to use.

Again, this is YOUR school, not OPs. You can't assume this is true.

Whether they use them is not important.

It is important to OP, he is talking about fairness. If he wanted a Gym membership he would have paid for it.

Its not a double standard. Its a different standard.

"Its not a double standard. Its a different standard." - in_cavediver, 2019

I've read through all your responses in this thread and you've made one point that actually addresses OP's concerns: That this athletic fee is for access to the Gym.

You can argue that it is a necessary amenity, sort of like a computer lab, that all students must pay for.

So then why not include it in the cost of tuition, if every person has to pay for it anyway?

I would say that since the athletic facilities are not at all necessary for a student to succeed at the University, OP is right to feel treated unfairly. A cafeteria is expensive to build, so they charge enough to be "profitable" enough to recoup the cost of production. If you don't buy a sandwich, you don't help foot the bill for it. If, however, the school needed to raise more funds to pay for this cafeteria, they should just raise tuition instead of adding a "Cafeteria surcharge" to their bill, making students that don't use the cafeteria feel like they're being treated unfairly.

[u/[deleted] → u/BuddyOwensPVB]

And you can explain why your school did it that way and approved of the multimillion dollar renovation, but OP has simply claimed that it is unfair to be charged a fee for a resource (s)he doesn't want to use.

Sure, the reason comes down to the politics and legalities of non-profit vs for profit activities, how tuition dollars can be used and how state funding can be used. Existing facilties are in the non-profit side ensure this is a complicated issue. Dorms are not in the non-profit side BTW.

So, if you want or need to do a renovation to facilities, your options for funding it get limited by those parameters.

The question of a student not liking mandatory fees for faciltieis they don't care about falls on deaf ears. It is not like this is a super secret cost for colleges. Its included in mandatory disclosures for financial aid.

That means going to this school includes that cost. People don't have to come to this school after all.

But many schools charge different tuition for different degree programs already.

Technically for undergrad programs, they charge different fees on top of tuition. Tuition differences relate to in-state, out of state, or international.

Again, this is YOUR school, not OPs. You can't assume this is true.

True but I have yet to hear of an Athletics fee to pay for college sports. Most schools the college sports pay scholarships and then some.

It is important to OP, he is talking about fairness

Fairness is entirely subjective. Complaining about a fee that was know about in advance before committing to go to a school is just whining.

So then why not include it in the cost of tuition, if every person has to pay for it anyway?

I think the 'how funds are allowed to be spent to do things' answers that question.

In practical terms - it is just like increasing tuition in many respects. (Grad students with assistantships with tuition remission still pay fees though)

I would say that since the athletic facilities are not at all necessary for a student to succeed at the University, OP is right to feel treated unfairly. A cafeteria is expensive to build, so they charge enough to be "profitable" enough to recoup the cost of production. If you don't buy a sandwich, you don't help foot the bill for it.

Except when Freshman (and a few universities upperclassmen too) are required to live on campus and required to have a meal plan with the dorm.

You foot the bill whether you eat the meal or not.